Marching Band Misfortunes
by Ryu Forte
Summary: This is the sequel to Skool Days Student Slaves! Caution! Band Humor! WARNING! THIS WILL BE A ZADR SLASH! Be forewarned! Welcome to the world of the band...
1. I'm Just a Kid

(Disclaimer: All songs used will (unfortunately) get a disclaimer…So every chapter will have one of those stupid things here at the top…just bypass it unless you want to know the artist who sings the song…Anyway…'I'm Just a Kid © to Simple Plan, I is making no money off the use of the song title…And, while I'm at it, Invader Zim, or any character from the show are not belong to me. Zak is mine though…for now…X3)

(Well, as you all know, or at least you should, this is the sequel to Skool Days Student Slaves…and the only reason I didn't type this up sooner is because I wanted you all to suffer! Mwahahahahahaha! Not really, I just couldn't think of a title…Yeah, really. I had two chapters in storage all this time, had them ready right after that last chapter, just couldn't think of a nice name…And if you think you can offer anything better, it would be much appreciated…Yes, I am aware that marching band does not last the entire year, but marching band leads to marching drumline, and they're always affiliated with the band…so yeah, it's really cheezy… I is blabberin' to much! To the reviewers! FallenAngel331, I believe that I replied to that message, but if not, I'll say it again briefly, black everything, shoes are a dull black and the shirt is on my deviant art account, under scraps…so yeah, that's cool. I is getting fan art! W00t Oo; ahem…yeah, Zim didn't have a song, he's in German. Because he only has three fingers he can't do a lot of the signs for a lot of stuff…he wouldn't be able to count past three…Oo; Shawnna, Thank you so much! You flatter me so much! And there will be much more tension, I promise. I is bad at English stuff, grammar no good…so if there are a few errors, my bad…andalitebandit-6, The reason Katie didn't go to Zak as well is well…when he gets all pissy and stuff, its best to stay far, FAR away from him. Plus if she said anything, she might end up with some cement shoes 20 feet under…Oo; No quotes for a while, sorry, I think you all need to go back and read that last one, because it apparently didn't register…maybe it's just me because I get it…Anyway, onto the chapter!)

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Dib woke up in a cold sweat, panting and shaking. He'd had another dream…a nice dream and every time he woke from it, it was like entering a nightmare…He had dreamed about Zak…again. These seemed to have started not long after skool let out for the summer, only because Dib hadn't seen Zak all summer. He must have gone some place with his parents, because house had been dark and silent since the very last bell.

Well, hopefully he'd see Zak sometime today, being the first day of the three week camp…again…Dib had spent most of his time at little lock-ins, or little gatherings where most of the line got together and just rehearsed music and rudiments for hours on end…eventually goofing off and completely forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. But luckily they had some of the music to work on…though they still had no idea what the show was going to be like. Mr. Helm had said something to the seniors, juniors, and section leaders, but Dib hadn't heard anything.

Dib looked over at his alarm clock. Only 7:02 AM…well, hell, he didn't have to be at practice until 4:30 PM…He had a lot of time and nothing to do. 'Great…' He stretched and yawned, not even bothering to get out of his PJ's as he headed over to one of his many computers. He checked his e-mail and messages. Nothin'. 'Ok, fine, let's see if there's anyone on for a chat.' He looked at all his messengers. Again, nobody… HE sighed again, 'Great, just great, what am I supposed to do for a day? I can't talk to anyone, I don't feel like spying on Zim right now…I don't even want to practice…' Dib looked through his game CD's and found one he didn't remember getting…The Sims…

"What the hell is this?" he said, popping it into his computer. It started to install and Dib watched. When it was done, a window popped up that said 'Would you like to restart your computer? Not restarting your computer could damage your hard drive, blah, blah, blah…'

"Yeah, yeah…shut up…" Dib told his computer to reboot, "Must be a pretty big game file to have _my_ computer reboot…wonder what it is…" Good thing he had a good computer, it restarted quickly and he clicked the shortcut for the game on his desk top.

As it booted up, some music played and text scrolled on the bottom, and some of the things it said were pretty weird…But then a main view screen came. It was a neighborhood, one of the houses had a rather large, obvious pointing arrow pointing to it. Dib clicked on the house and it took no time to load.

The house became bigger, so that most of it took up most of the screen, and there was a person outside the house. Dib waved the courser over the person and a little box came up with a name – Bob. "Interesting…" Dib looked at the top right hand corner. It had another box with a lot of type in it. It was mostly saying things like 'Welcome to The Sims, yadda, yadda…' He clicked the 'ok'. Every time there was a box, Dib did what the box said and progressed through the game. At the end, he ended up with two Sims, Bob and his wife, Betty. Another window came up asking if he wanted the help thing to continue, he thought it wouldn't hurt, so he clicked 'yes'.

After a few minuets, he noticed he couldn't understand a thing his Sims were saying, even though he knew what they were talking about, due to the thought bubble over their heads. He was about to exit and re-install it when another box came up.

It said 'Can't understand your Sims? That's because they are speaking Sim, you know what they are talking about through the speech bubbles.'

"Well, that answers that question…" mumbled Dib to himself, "I wonder…" he did some experiments with his current Sims and found he liked the results. He then went back to the neighborhood and looked for the Sim maker and made the drumline, though he had to make three or four families, only because it only allowed eight Sims in a family.

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Dib was also quite excited with what he had done. He also looked into the fact that there were five or six other expansion packs. And the best part, was that the latest could have your kid Sims grow up, but he wasn't sure how, for the kids never grow up, nor do they ever die…The only way for them to die is if you kill them, which Dib found quite enjoyable, actually…

Dib hadn't noticed the at all how fast time had gone by since he started. He'd only gotten up a handful of times because he was so emerged in the game. So when he looked down at the clock again, it said 4:18…

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!" He was throwing clothes all around looking for something fairly clean. When he was dressed, he grabbed his music and his drumsticks and shoved them into his trench coat. He ran down the stairs, tripping in the process and nearly impaling himself with his sticks. He ran out the door, running back when he forgot to lock it.

When he started running down the drive way, a deep, candy orange sports bike stopped in front of his house. (Ok, for all of you who are not familiar with motorcycle lingo, a "Candy coat' is a coat of paint that is see through and is used to make the base coat more vibrant. Candy coats come in all colors, but the most popular is Candy Apple, which is a red color.)

"Get on!" said the motorcyclist, tossing Dib a helmet. Dib caught the helmet and just stood there, looking at the rider. "Hurry up! Or you'll be late!" shouted the person on the bike. Dib quickly did as the rider told him and put on the helmet. It was a little tight, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He wasn't sure who it was on the bike, but who else would know he had to get somewhere by a certain time? It had to have been one of the line members, right?

"Good, now, get on the back and put your hands around my waist, and put your feet on the passenger pegs." said the rider. Dib did as he was told and got on the back. "Now hold on tight, this has no seat belts…" said the person, right before laying on the throttle thick and taking off.

Dib was a little startled by the sudden take off, but otherwise didn't get thrown off the back. But when the biker pulled a wheelie, Dib got scared and held on for dear life to the rider. When the front wheel touched down, the rider took his left, fully gloved and placed it over Dib's hand, almost in a reassuring gesture. Dib felt a little better, but was still shook up, so he kept his death grip on the rider. The rider patted Dib's hand and put it back on the grip, he needed to use that hand to clutch, because he was slowing down to turn into the skool parking lot, therefore, he needed to be in a lower gear ratio so he could make the turn and not go down in the process.

He made the turn, then turned again to enter the back parking lot. The rider found a spot and parked, then shut the bike off.

"You can get off, now…" said the rider. Dib snapped out of his slightly dazed state and got off the back of the bike, taking off his helmet as well. The rider put the kick-stand down and took the key out of the bike. Dib handed the helmet back and the rider took it, setting it on the passenger seat. The rider began stripping off his shell of leather armor. First his gloves, then he unzipped his jacket, and began taking off his helmet.

This is what Dib wanted to see, this is what he wanted to know, who was this? Form the get-go, Dib knew it was a guy, and now that his jacket was unzipped, it was confirmed.

When the rider took his helmet off, Dib nearly passed out, (Or at least had a nosebleed X3) His jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. Dib's mouth moved, yet nothing was said. Then he was finally to cough out a name… "ZAK?"

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(Hope you like the first chapter, I though it was a little short, but it's a good start. Oh, yeah…DISCLAIMER: THE SIMS ARE NOT BELONG TO ME! Ok, good thing that's over with. Hope you all enjoyed this! I would like to know your thoughts about it! Please review so I can post the next chapter! X3)


	2. Battery

(Disclaimer, Battery is not belong to me, it belongs to the almighty Metallica, and I am making on money, etc for using this song title. Also, as a little side note, this is a play on words. Battery can refer to the back line, or those who march. AKA, Bass drums, tenors and snares. X3)

(OMG! Another chapter! Too bad I have nothing after this one…I need another notebook, I only have 3 or so pages left in the one I currently have…So, until I get another one, no more story for you all…meh, to the reviewers…to those who at least reviewed…FallenAngel331, lol that's a really funny story, XD too bad I didn't see it for myself! But yeah, those are just the indoor costumes, if you will…during marching band, we also have to wear those horrible polyester things in almost 90 degree weather so horrible…That's odd, I was in the pit last year and I didn't have to wear a beret…Oo; Very odd…I really appreciate your reviews because you know that I'm not making any of the drum stuff up, outside the fact that all the drummers in my line are crazy…Oo; Anyway, love for the review! Shawnna, well, at least your not in denial that your addicted, you have successfully passed step one. lol yeah you may think Zak's cool now, but just wait until after this chapter…you may think differently. Evildeathbee, I think you might be on the wrong story, in order to find out who Zak is, you have to go and read my other story, Skool Days Student Slaves. This is the sequel to that story. On to the second chapter!)

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_Lashing out the action, returning the reaction  
Weak are ripped and torn away  
Hypnotizing power, crushing all that cower  
Battery is here to stay_

Zak just chuckled at Dib's reaction. "Sorry, I couldn't tell you about this last year for a reason. Kat didn't want to get into any trouble by teaching me how to ride," said Zak, setting his helmet on the rider's seat. He could see Dib was still in shock, and probably hadn't heard a thing he just said. He patted Dib on the shoulder, "Are you honestly _that_ surprised?"

"No…not really," said Dib, finally having time to look over the bike, "It's a nice bike…"

"Yeah, I love this thing, and they had the perfect color to," said Zak, patting the tank, "The Hyabusa (sp?) is the only crotch rocket I'd ever get."

"Crotch…rocket?" said Dib, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, eh…it's just another name for a sports bike…" said Zak, "Moving on, we should go, Mr. Helm would be mad if we're not in there soon…"

"Yeah…that would be a good idea, don't want the teacher mad at us before skool starts, right?" he chuckled a little bit, before starting to walk towards the skool.

"Hey, wait for me!" Zak quickly locked the bike's front wheel and caught up with Dib.

_Smashing through the boundaries  
lunacy has found me  
cannot stop the Battery  
Pounding out aggression  
turns into obsession  
cannot kill the Battery  
Cannot kill the family  
Battery is found in me  
Battery  
Battery_

They walked into the skool and headed into the band room…it was deserted, save for the color guard and Mr. Burk.

"Uh…" Zak just looked around, "Where is everybody?"

"Not here…" they both jumped when Mr. Helm came up behind them.

"But it's 15 till!" said Dib.

"And you're the first…" said Mr. H, "And everyone will probably forget it started today…"

This being said, five minuets later the band room was packed. Veterans, noobs, and everything in between, even Kat and Beth decided to show up.

"OMG! Kat! Beth! I missed you!" squealed Katie as she ran over and hugged them, "I'm so glad you came back, even if it's just for today…"

Beth and Kat smiled, "Yeah, thought we'd come by and help out a few days before we head off to kolege." said Beth.

"Yeah, she'll be helping out the battery and I'll be helping out the pit." said Kat, "We figured you guys would need some help, with the music and all…"

"You know what our show is?" said Dib, walking over to them.

"Yup, H gave us all the music just about a month ago, just so we'd know how it goes," said Kat, "You'll need _a lot_ of help…"

_Crushing all deceivers, mashing non-believers  
never ending potency  
Hungry violence seeker, feeding off the weaker  
Breeding on insanity_

"Thanks for having so much faith in us…" said Zak sarcastically.

"There's our little pessimist! Wondered when you'd show up…" chuckled Kat.

Zak just rolled his eyes, "Whatever…"

"So, wha'd ya get?" asked Kat.

"What?" replied Zak.

"Wha'd ya get bike wise?" said Kat, "You said you were gonna get your license…and judging by your clothes, I'd say you rode here."

"Oh! That, yeah, I got a Hyabusa (sp?) standard candy orange." said Zak.

"Nice!" said Kat excitedly. They then started talking about motorcycles.

_Smashing through the boundaries  
lunacy has found me  
cannot stop the Battery  
Pounding out aggression  
turns into obsession  
cannot kill the Battery  
Cannot kill the family  
Battery is found in me  
Battery  
Battery_

Dib tried to understand when they were saying, but they might as well be speaking French or Russian. He didn't get a drop of the conversation, so he went on and got his snare and set up like always. He was quite surprised to see someone else setting up right next to him and start playing. When he finished setting up his drum and adjusted the height, he turned to see who it was next tot him. It was…Zim? And he'd grown? Dib nearly fell on his ass when he saw how well Zim played. His particular style seemed very close to Zak's, but, different at the same time. He played with only his wrist is seemed, only because he had a thumb and two fore-fingers. Even though he was at a disadvantage, he over came it and kept up with the best…Dib had to commend that…

"Damn, Zim, you've been practicing…" said Dib…did he really just say that?

_Circle of Destruction, Hammer comes crushing  
Powerhouse of energy  
Whipping up a fury, Dominating flurry  
We create the Battery_

"Yes…I hope to take a place of one of the snare payers…" he looked over at Dib with hateful eyes, "Maybe even yours…"

Dib just rolled his eyes, he happened to look over at Zak, who now had a look of rage in his eyes that sent chills into Dib's very soul…Dib quickly averted his eyes, 'Shit! What the hell?'

Zak said his good byes to Kat and walked over to Dib.

"I wasn't looking at you, Dib, I was looking past you…" said Zak, almost apologetically. Well, at least Dib didn't feel as threatened as he did…

_Smashing through the boundaries  
lunacy has found me  
cannot stop the Battery  
Pounding out aggression  
turns into obsession  
cannot kill the Battery  
Cannot kill the family  
Battery is found in me  
Battery  
Battery  
Battery_

Zak walked over to Zim and started talking to him in German, but when the argument escalated, the language changed. Dib didn't recognize it, it was almost like a cross between German, Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, French, and every other language he could think of. Dib hadn't heard anything like it before, it was almost like a code he couldn't break. But the odd thing is, it sounded like something he had heard before, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Then one word rang out in his mind, 'Eko'. A word he had heard before, but again, couldn't remember where. It sounded a lot like the word 'Echo', but the 'ch' was almost something said from the gut if you got punched there while the 'E' sounded like a hard E and a soft E all at the same time.

Dib felt like he was going to go insane, it bothered him that he couldn't remember where he heard it before…

_Battery…_

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Well practice was basic stuff for the noobs: Marching 101, basic formations, music, etc. The drummers got their first dose of the August heat in nearly a year, and the freshman were in pain from the drums. But, other than everyone being dead, it went quite well.

Beth and Kat had to leave near the end so they could get to their kollege orientation. All the drums had been put away and there was much music lying all over the band floor.

Dib had started off to the back hallway when Zak came up to him.

"Hey!" said Zak, causing Dib to turn around.

"Oh, hey, Zak. I never thanked you for earlier. Thanks for the ride over here." said Dib.

"Oh, it's no problem, don't worry about it, I was going to give you a ride home to…" said Zak as they walked through the parking lot.

"You don't have to do that," said Dib. Zak waved a now gloved hand.

"It's fine, really…" Zak handed Dib the pair helmet. Dib took it and held it for a time before putting it on. Zak smiled behind his helmet as he started up the bike. He nodded his head to the right to signal Dib to get on. Dib got on and placed his hands on Zak's waist.

The ride home was much nicer without the wheelies and the dodging through traffic. When they got to Dib's house, Dib got off and returned the helmet.

"Thank you…" said Dib, he didn't notice Zak taking off his helmet as well. Dib started walking towards his house when Zak spoke up.

"Hey, wait a minuet…" said Zak. Dib walked back over to Zak. "I just want to say that the end of last year sucked ass…Just forget everything that I said and did, and everything that happened…I was wondering if we could start over new this year…"

"Zak, it's fine, people get pissed, feelings are hurt, relationships are broken, don't worry about it, it's all good." said Dib, feeling like this was déjà vu. Dib started turning to head back to his house when the front of his trench coat was grabbed and pulled down. Dib fought just to keep his balance, looking down to see Zak looking at him with an odd glare.

"You need to stop making excuses for everybody…" said Zak, fisting his leather clad hands in Dibs flowy leather jacket. Zak then pulled Dib down further and lightly kissed him on the cheek, releasing Dib immediately after. Zak then put his helmet back on with haste and punched the bike into first gear, taking off down the street.

Dib just stood there, dumbstruck. 'Did that really just happen?' he thought, 'Did Zak really just do that? Was that even Zak? Is this all just a dream?' After a long time of contemplation, Dib decided that it was real, that this was no dream. He reached up and lightly touched his cheek and smiled a bit. He shook his head slightly, chuckling to himself, heading towards the house. Then something struck him and he stopped dead in his tracks. He stood there in utter shock, it just wasn't possible…he finally remembered the language that word had come from, but he just couldn't believe it…It was Irken.

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(Well, hope everybody liked that awful twist at the end, but wait, there's more! I'm only gettin' started! I told you at some point in the other story that these would be stories of secrets, just wait, 'cause this is only the begging. I'll turn you all on your heads in no time flat, just you wait!)


	3. Beethoven's Fifth

(DISCLAIMER: Beethoven's 5th is not belong to me, it belongs to the almighty Beethoven himself! I am not making any money off of the title, it's just there for looks…)

(Hello, I'm back again with another chapter…too bad I think you'll all hate me for it. I hope you like it anyway, though. To the lovely reviewers! FallenAngel331, maybe you should think about counseling…XD j/k I'm glad you like my story, but I do think it's unhealthy to have an addiction…but, moving on, yes, you are correct in the fact that I am a woman. etch-n-sketch, good to see you again…why would it only be correct for Zak to speak Irken? Oo; Thank you about the song lyrics, I plan on doing it for other chapters that really fit the song. Otherwise, it will remain a title. Thank you for your concern, but I was able to get a brand new, five course one, so I won't need to get a new one for a while.)

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Dib had locked himself in his room after entering his house. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, doing nothing but thinking.

'This can't be happening, I have to be imagining it…' he thought over and over again in his head, 'He can't be Irken…There's nothing about him that says he is. He has no pack or pod thing, that's the key factor…Without one of those things, an Irken can only live 10 minuets. And I've been with or around Zak for hours on end, and no symptoms whatsoever…Even Tak had one of those things…it was still visible even though she used a hologram. I just don't understand!' Dib's features became stressed and twisted at the thought of Zak with green skin, big, shiny red eyes, long curled antenna and that devilish grin he always seemed to bare, standing in the middle of a destroyed city.

"NO!" said dib, sitting up with a jolt, "I refuse to believe it! It can't be true!"

"Dib, I swear! If you don't shut up!" shouted Gaz from downstairs.

"Don't go crazy, now, son!" said Membrane from the basement.

Dib just kicked his shoes off and tossed his shirt on the floor, rolled over and went to sleep. He'd worry about it tomorrow.

It wasn't long after skool had started that the fire alarm went off and the class started heading for the meeting place for that particular class. But Dib didn't go with the rest of the class, for whatever reason, he knew what was going on. Dib went strait to the boiler room and saw the back of someone who was messing with the boiler, flames licking at the walls at every corner.

"You won't get away with this Zim!" he shouted. All he got in response was a cackle. The person turned and it wasn't Zim…it was Zak?

"Stupid earth smelly, you would have thought to figure it out by now…stupid dirt worm…" Zak cackled again and his human form literally melted away the reveal an Irken. "Goodbye Dib, nice knowing you…" He pulled a gun from his back pocket and cocked it, pointing the barrel at Dib's unmissable head. He pulled the trigger and Dib woke up.

Dib sat up like a lightning bolt. He ran a hand through his thick, black hair. Was that Zak, or was it Zim? He wasn't sure. He looked over at his clock. Well, wha'd know…1 in the morning…Dib decided not to think about it, even though it scared him shitless. He closed his eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep again.

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Zak impatiently waited for his call to go through. Why wasn't he answering? He should still be up…Then, his call finally went through.

"Took you long enough!" said Zak at the video screen.

"Zak? What the bloody hell do you want now!" shouted a very angry blonde with green eyes and hollow cheeks. He looked really pissed at Zak for whatever reason.

"Did I wake you? You can drop the accent, Dream…" said Zak lazily, "Not that its not good, you really do sound British, but you can drop the act around me…"

"No you didn't…what accent?" asked Dream, "Zak, has being on the other side of the pond made you loony?"

"I could say the same for you…" said Zak, "Look, that's not why I called you, I need you to do a surveillance mission…over here, right away…"

"What, you just expect me to come through the telle? Are you crazy?" complained Dream, "Why so you need me so soon?"

"Because, I need you to watch Zim. He's planning something big, but I don't know what it is nor do I know when he'll release whatever it is…" said Zak, "Plus, I plan on calling one more reinforcement…"

"And who might that be?" inquired Dream.

"That, my friend, is classified information..." said Zak with that ignorant smile he was known for.

Dream chuckled, "Alright, when I cross the pond, I'll call you on the mobile. See you in two clicks…" with that, he signed off.

Zak turned off his screen as well and sat in his flaoty chair a long time before finally coming to a conclusion, "I'll contact the Tallest about my secret weapon later, right now, I have some music to look over…"

Once again, it was time for band and the drummers were there half an hour early, just sittin' around and chatting. But, due to the nature of teenage boys, they were teasing each other…

"Ha! You couldn't get a girlfriend even if you tried!" laughed David at Dib. Dib just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, because I don't care…" said Dib.

"Liar! You're too geeky to get a girl!" pushed Tommy.

"Shut up! Just watch!" said Dib and he stormed over to where the girls were, the guys snickering all the way and Zak looking on with interest.

Dib stopped in front of Katie and she looked up at him from her sketchbook. "May I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah…uh…you wanna g out sometime?" asked Dib.

"Like a date?" she asked.

"…yes…" said Dib. Katie just smiled a little and shook her head.

"I'd love to, but, you forgot one of the most important rules of dating…" she said, standing up, "Never date a co-worker. In this case, I could be considered a co-worker and I seriously doubt that you would consider leaving the line just to get a date. So, sorry, Dib, it just wouldn't work out between us…" she smiled again and walked off to get her bass drum.

The guys were just laughing their heads off. Dib was even laughing a little to. Ok, he didn't expect that to happen, but it was pretty funny.

"Man! You were turned down flat!" laughed Tommy.

"You got BURNED!" commented Tory, patting Dib on the back.

"Alright, people, time to learn some music! Let's go! In the other room in 10 minuets!" said Mr. Helm, unlocking the back room so everyone could get their stuff. Once everything was set, they headed into the other room with their drums.

"Ok, looks like everybody's here, so, let's get stated. Sorry I didn't tell you anything yesterday, I was much to impressed at how marvelous you all are at playing this music that you hopefully haven't ever seen before..." said Mr. Burk. There were some snickers and giggles, "Ok, as you all know, you all have…" he looked back at the percussion section with mock irritation, "Or should have a bunch of music pieces that don't really relate to one another, in front of you. That's the bad part, you have to memorize all those music sheets by the end of next week…" there were many groans from the freshman. Mr. Burk waited for them to finish before moving on, "As you all know, most of you have seen or met our two lovely Drum Majors: Connie and David. This year's show is entitled 'Battle of the Drum Majors' or something like that. So, having that said, that 'traditional' drum major was voted to be David, and the more laid back, 'I'll so what I think is cool' Drum Major will be Connie. First piece, it will go in order as follows: the beginning of Beethoven's Fifth, David will start that off. That will then lead into a hold, then a pause and Connie takes over and start Respect. Then I believe will have a drum break that will be 'unexpected' and everyone kinda of stops and are all like 'what's going on, what do we do?' kind of thing, probably a scatter plot. Then Fur Elise with a twist…" he snickered a little and everybody immediately started to cower. Whenever Mr. Burk, or Mr. Helm for that matter, did something like that, it always meant something bad for the band…or the drumline… "Then we start playing Summertime, then flow into a fast version of Summertime. This is topped by Role Over Beethoven and finish with the end of Beethoven's Fifth." There were whispers and comments made by everybody, it seemed like a fun enough show…but the veterans knew that with something that sound fun like this, the drill would probably end up killing them…

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Well, after all is said and done, the night was quite short. They started marching drill a full week early. Not bad for only the second day.

Dib kept his distance from Zak, he needed time to think about all that's happened. (He seems to be doing a lot of that lately, huh?) Dib didn't need any…distractions from Zak at the moment.

Dib was right about to exit the skool when he felt a tap on his shoulder he turned around to find…Zim? Well, that was a shocker, but at least it wasn't Zak. "Zim? What do you want…"

Zim just held his three clawed hands up as a peaceful gesture, "Look, Dib-stink, you seem to have been doing this whole drum thing a lot longer than I, ZIM! So I demand that you make me better."

"Zim, I don't have to do a damn thing for you…" said Dib, continuing to walk home.

"You will obey! OBEY! If you don't…I'll…uh…" said Zim, not doing a good job of persuading Dib.

"You'll what? Blow up the earth?" joked Dib as he walked down the street, Zim following behind.

Zim stopped and when Dib didn't hear Zim's footsteps, he stopped and turned around. Zim was…Different, he seemed smarter, but not much, but there was just something about him… "Zim?"

Zim was looking down at the ground and his posture slumped, not something Zim normally did, if ever. "I no longer have that authority…nor did I ever…I was living a lie, a damned, fucking lie. So no, I will not blow up the earth, nor will I ever. Earth is safe, Dib-beast. I have nothing to force you with to do anything anymore…"

Dib just stared at Zim with his mouth open. He'd been protecting the earth for nothing? Dib took a step back and nearly stumbled onto his ass. Zim just looked at Dib and Dib acted like he had seen one of those flowy, white earth things he'd seen on TV.

"You're just trying to trick me! I know you're up to something Zim! You wouldn't just give up! I know you!" said Dib, pointing an accusing finger at Zim.

"I guess you don't know me as well as you thought, big-head!" said Zim, rising up on his spider legs and started walking towards Dib, who slowly receded as Zim came. Zim ripped off his wig and contacts and rose high above Dib, ready to kill if need be. "You begin to make me sick, Dib…And if you do not give me what I want, you'll find yourself dead…" His blood red eyes shoe brightly in the dark of the night. But, right as he was about to attack, someone else struck first. That's what knocked Dib on his ass.

A third party had come into the situation. A tall, lanky looking Irken with emerald green eyes had kicked Zim away. His clothing was far from what Zim had on. TI was much more elaborate and parts of it looked almost like body armor. He still had the black pants and the black boots, but the tops of the boots came to a sharp point, and pointed slightly outward as if to be used as a first moment self defense weapon. The technology from his pack seemed a little older and not as high-tech as Zim's, from what Dib could tell. When this new Irken chanced to look over at Dib, Dib noticed that his face was long and hollowed with age, his eyes seemed worn and tired with two light scars passing over them. His antenna were long and very battle worn, with bullet, or lazer, holes that went through them, and one of the antenna seemed to droop lower than the other. This new Irken was definitely a worrier, a soldier of the Empire.

"What is this? Who are you!" snarled Zim, getting back onto his spider legs, "How dare you attack with out proper provocation!"

"There was provocation, food drone!" hissed the new Irken, speaking in a British tongue. Zim cringed at the insult, "You are in direct violation of the interplanetary law. The rules and regulations of the intergalactic conquest clearly state that any alien under protection of any official or commanding officer of the armada is to remain untouched. You are in direct violation of the code, though it seems fitting for a defective to violate the rules, knowing what happened with the first galactic sweep!" This new Irken was cut off by a swift punch to the lower jaw and was flung back a ways.

"Shut up! I refuse to take such diatribe from you…" growled Zim, taking up a fighting stance.

The other Irken just laughed and Zim quirked an antenna. Dib was just happy he wasn't exactly in the middle of this one, so he stayed quiet and where he was. The green eyed Irken chuckled once more and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "If you want to take it up with someone, take it up with Sergeant Major, and code 925-03." He chuckled again in that (very sexy X3) British tone, "It's good to see you again, Zim…"

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(And that's all I wrote! Hope you like it, 'cause it's all you're going to get for the holiday! Happy holidays and a happy new year! Love you all!)


	4. Summertime

(DISCLAIMER: Summertime is not belong to me, and I don't know who plays it, the only version I know of is the instrumental…so, whoever wrote it, I am not making any money off of the name or anything…)

(I'm updating! So be happy now because I might not get to any time soon! FallenAngel331, I don't know why you are here, why are you here? Yes, another filthy cliffhanger. Get used to it…Invader Tak, thank you! And I sent e-mails. etch-n-sketch, I told, there will be plot twists all over the damn place. This is just a minor one, compared to the one I have in store for the next story. His identity will be revealed soon enough, so you'll have to wait, just like everybody else. Your addiction will be craved in due time. On with da story!)

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'Wait, they know each other?' thought Dib, 'Must have left on bad terms…' Dib still sat in the same position that he fell into, not bothering to move due to the fact it would draw attention to himself. But then he remembered that the Irken with the forest green eyes said he was under protection…

"Why is the Dib-monster protected? Who gave this sergeant major the authority!" rebuttled Zim

"Why, don't you know?" asked the green eyes Irken, quirking an antenna and narrowing his eyes. Zim did not respond. "Guess you don't…It was the almighty tallest themselves, they authorized the code: That no creature, alien or not, having to do with, or is in a band, will not be touched as in harm…It was all over the circuits, why is it that YOU are _always _the last to know anything?"

Zim growled but otherwise backed down, "Just wait, when I catch him alone and you aren't around, I'll rip his head off…"

"That's just it, smeet, you won't, there will be three of us total, so you'll be under constant surveillance. Plus, we can have you executed if you disobey protocol. I think the Tallest would gladly bring back Myuki's method, just for you…" a sadistic grin crossed his dark green face.

Zim then seemed to panic and he backed up, "They wouldn't! It's…it's…"

"Cruel and unethical, but it seems fitting for you, defective…" said the older Irken.

Zim seemed to cower before this older Irken, then turned tail and ran.

The battle scarred Irken watched Zim run as he lowered himself to the ground. He turned to Dib, who just realized he wasn't invisible. Dib looked around, trying to find a way out. The green eyed Irken walked over to him and outstretched a hand. Dib looked at the long fingered hand, then back up at the Irken towering over him. "It's ok, I mean you no harm…" Dib was quite reluctant, but took the offered hand. The Irken pulled Din to his feet, "I would assume you are the one known as Dib…"

"Yes…" said Dib warily, "Who are you? Why can't Zim kill me?" 'Wait…that was really bad phrasing…'

"I am Dream, I'm a body guard if you will. And as I said before, you are protected by the Tallest themselves."

"Why do your leaders care…And why do you have a British accent?" asked Dib.

"Because the Almighty Tallest have taken a liking to your music and just the whole band aspect. Even the band members they said were entertaining," said Dream, "And I don't even realize I have a British accent, to me, you have an accent. But the answer to your question, I believe, is that I've spent the last year, on your planet, in England, that is to my knowledge."

"You look about the height of the…Tallest…how come you aren't one?" asked Dib.

"For a smeet, you ask a lot of questions…" said Dream, but Dib just looked at him. Dream sighed, "Because I'm not as tall as them, by only a few centimeters…" He looked away briefly, "If anything were to happen to them, Irk forbid, I'd be then next in line. I'm well trained and I've stood by their sides for years. Thanks to them, I'm not in the field anymore…"

"I see…" said Dib, "How old are you?"

"Now I understand why your head's so large…That is not a question I want to answer. What about you, how long does your race live?"

"Well, I'm 15…the longest living human was 120, I think…" said Dib, Dream nearly fainted.

"120? The smeets aren't even out of training yet!" he looked over Dib, "Your race could be considered endangered…" Dream shook his head, "Look, time to get you home. Head to your dwelling, I…we need to know where you live, so we can protect you…"

Dib eyed him then shrugged and started walking home. "You do know there are millions of people on this planet, right?" He said, not quite sure of everything that was going on, it might be a trap. He felt odd having a tall, green eyed alien following him home. All he got out of Dream was a mumble. "Listen, I'm not like other humans, I can handle myself fine…I've been dealing with Zim for 5 years now…"

"Not from what I could tell…" said Dream.

"He wasn't acting normal…he seemed more…rabid…than usual, more direct, more menacing…" said Dib, turning around to face Dream.

"Then it's finally happening…" said Dream sadly, "His pack it starting to degenerate…This was bound to happen eventually. You need protection now more than ever. Is this your dwelling?"

"Yes, but!" protested Dib.

"Not now, go into your home. You can ask us anything you please another day." And with that, he was gone. Dib just shook his head and went into his house. This was going to be one crazy, screwed up year…

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(Ok, yeah, I realize this is a little short, but its only leading up to the really long next chapter! So do not fret…well yeah, fret, I won't be updating anytime soon…but I do hope you enjoy this chapter and you'll patiently, PATIENLY wait for the next one…)


	5. She Hates Me

(DISCLAIMER! She hates me is belong to Puddle of Mudd. Is not belong to me and I am not making any money off the title, so get over it!)

(Ok, back with another addition to MBM. Unfortunately for you, this has been the last chapter I've written thus far…so you'll have to wait even longer because I need to write more…Anyway…about this chapter. I think I've re-written it at least two or three times, so I hope you're all happy…etch-n-sketch, is there a particular reason that you like Dream? Is it because he told off Zim or is it because he's British? Why would you like an Irken, no offence, but aren't they supposed to be the enemy? Ah, well…FallenAngel331, lol, I'm glad things are falling into place for you. DannyFentonIsMyHomeboy, sigh. Zak is my own original character, and I'm not going to tell you who he is, I want to you to go find out by reading the first story: School Day Student Slaves. I won't tell you because that would be giving the answer to you and I want to you learn on your own…Sounds like a teacher, don't it? Shiver…Oh! I want to give a special shout out to Reyku Sama, My wonderful co-writer who fixes everything and gives me really good ideas! Love ya lots! You rock! Ok, ok…On wit da show!)

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-Ok, look, I'm really, really super lazy and don't want to take the time and go through all three weeks of camp. Bottom line: first was ok, hell week sucked, and the third week went smoothly. Why? Because I don't really care…Again, like I said, major event, major events…But do not fret, there will still be band related stuff and that horrid, morbid humor of the band, but I will deviate a little more this time around. But, I will also explore WGI ROAD TRIP! So yeah, not to mention the spring trip…so blah, and on with the actual story…-

Well, over the past few weeks, Dib had gotten used to the whole 'being watched for a good reason' thing…Dream didn't attend the drumline class, nor did he even attend the skool as anything, but he was always watching, and Dib could feel that it probably was for the best.

The third Irken hadn't shown up yet and Dib was beginning to think that Zak was the major person that Dream always talked about. But again, he had his doubts because he didn't wear a pack, and that really sent Dib up a wall.

But at least Dib had learned something useful about Irkens…well, their lore anyway. Dream liked to talk about all the ancient warriors and the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, from books, research or just from person to person via spoken. Dib also told Dream some of the earth lore that Dream had never encountered and some background history of humans, but nothing that could incriminate the race too badly or give away battle tactics or anything like that. And overall, they seemed to grow on each other, Dream even came to the first football game when his father couldn't.

Then, the day finally came, the day that the fourth Irken would come to earth. From what Dream told Dib, the Sergeant Major had to pull a lot of strings to get this one Irken. The major was the only one who knew who it was they were sending for.

Unfortunately, Dib still hated the Irkens, especially Zim, but knowing more about them now, it was a little better to understand why he hated them…Dib had already known that the Irkens were power-hungry for galactic conquest. What he didn't know was how they treated all the planets they had conquered. But, Dib had to give the guys in charge some credit, after all, his entire planet, for the most part, was under protection. From what he could gather from Dream, that was extremely generous…

Dib was sitting with Dream on the roof, watching the stars for any signs of the new arrival.

"Do you think I'll ever meet this Major guy?" asked Dib.

"Dib-human, I've already answered this question…Several times before…" said Dream, "His identity is strictly confidential…" Dib sighed. He was never going to if it was Zak or not unless he confronted him. Not something he wanted to do… "It's getting late, you should replenish your energy cells."

"I told you, it's called sleeping, and I'm not tired…" said Dib stubbornly, right before a mighty yawn.

"But it's nearly 2:00 and you have the academy tomorrow," said Dream.

"Damn skool…fine…" grumbled Dib as he climbed in through his window. Dream disappeared and ended up in the belly of a base. He walked over to a dark figure that was sitting in a chair and rested a hand on it's shoulder.

"When will she get here?" asked Dream.

"Soon, very soon, she'll be here tonight. The scanners were just a little off…" said the figure, clearly the one in charge, "She'll be here very soon…"

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The next day at skool, Dib was in a world of hurt. He fell asleep twice during AP Govt (Government) that morning and was sent to time-out, where he promptly fell asleep again. Next, he was off to AP Lit., which barely kept his attention, plus the fact that it was a boring class to begin with. Ah, lunch a time of talking, eating and doing the homework for the next class you should have done two days ago. Lucky for Dib, he had all his homework done and was able to eat something for once…not that it was really food, I mean, come on, cafeteria food is not that appetizing…He had skipped out on breakfast in order to catch the bus. Well, off the AP Chem., so much fun…Just two hours until he was home free, the best class of the day and the only one that kept him fairly sane: Drumline.

As soon as the bell rang, Dib shot out of his Chem. class and sprinted down the hallway to the band room. 'Sweet freedom! Finally, some good ol' relaxation and stress relief…' Dib sighed happily, he hated orange days, the only good class was at the end of the day. Lucky for him, it was Monday, so there was no marching band after skool. Dib walked into the band room and his spirits dropped dramatically. He had forgot that there was a sub today and there was only one person in the band room besides himself…Zak. Dib pretended to be invisible, but it didn't work to well…

"Hey Dib," said Zak, waving slightly, "Haven't talked to you in a while, how goes it?"

'Talking, talking is ok, nothing bad can come from talking, right?' thought Dib. Without realizing it, he had walked over to Zak, "It goes…I hate orange days so much, this is the only good class all day…" said Dib, sighing, "Plus I seem to be under a lot of stress…"

"Any reason why?" asked Zak.

"I have no idea…" said Dib, plopping himself into a chair right next to Zak.

"Who are you?" asked the sub in a thick Indian accent (from India…), "I need you names to mark you here…"

"Oh, uh, Dib M. and Zak…uh…"

"I…" said Zak. The sub marked them there and started to walk off when Zak said something else, "Is it ok if we practice in one of the back rooms?"

The sub shrugged and walked off.

'Oh, no, what's he planning?' thought Dib suspiciously. Then began to panic for whatever reason. Dib shook his head slightly, 'No, I won't think like that. I must keep my head about me…there's nothing wrong…nothing wrong…'  
"C'mon, bring your sticks, I'll get a pad…" said Zak.

"I'll be in practice room C," said Dib as he got a pair of sticks and went into the room. He sat down in one of the two chairs and started drumming on his shoe. Zak soon entered with a drum pad and a pair of his own drumsticks. He set the pad on the music stand in the room and adjusted the height. It was a little low for him, but it was the perfect height for Dib, so it was ok. Zak closed the door and sat down in the other chair. Zak played on his shoe for a while before he spoke.

"You should know that I didn't ask you in here to play…" he said quietly.

"Yes…I was just waiting for you to say something…" Dib replied quietly, not yielding his assault on him worn black boot.

"That's just it, I'm not the one who needs to say something, you are…" said Zak, looking at Dib. Dib chanced to look up and see Zak gazing at him. Dib averted his eyes as the rudiment tapping stopped.

"I have nothing to say to you…" Dib murmured softly.

"No, Dib, I think you do. I haven't talked or even acknowledged me for the past three weeks! But I see you constantly looking at me with that stupid look on your face, day in and day out. So answer me this, and only this: Why?" said Zak, standing up and bringing a fist down on the practice pad. Dib just looked down at the floor, "Well? What is it Dib? Answer me!"

Dib shot up out of the chair and met Zak's angry glare, "You want answers? You want the truth! I'll give it to you! Very good sources say that you are bad news, that you're one of those alien bastards hell bent on taking over the universe! So, yeah, I've been avoiding you! Woop de fuckin' do!"

"You honestly think I'm one of those creatures? What the fuck is wrong with you?" shouted Zak. He then looked toward the ceiling and began to laugh, "This is just too much, where's the camera?"

"You think I'm joking? I couldn't be more serious! If it wasn't for all you fucking Irkens around, I'd be happy as a clam!" shouted Dib.

"With no friends and living a lie…" said Zak matter-o'-factly, "Without those alien monsters, even the band people would still think you're crazy. Face it Dib, you're just kidding yourself in more ways than one!" Zak sat back down in his chair roughly and stared angrily at the floor. (He must be trying to burn a hole in the floor. XD)

"You're just a malcontent, for whatever reason, Zak," said Dib, "Unless you have something substantial to say to me, I'm leaving…" Dib got up and headed for the door.

"There is one more thing…" said Zak. Dib turned around, only to be pinned against the wall, Zak holding his wrists at his sides, engaging him in a deep kiss. Dib was surprised to say the least, and the uncertainty about Zak seemed to scream out in his head. He struggled to get free but Zak's strength and weight were too great for his skinny, nerd/geek type build.

When Zak stopped, he didn't pull back his restraints on Dib's wrists. HE looked into Dib's ember brown eyes and waited for a response.

Dib wasn't at all that sure how to respond. He just looked at Zak in complete and utter blankness.

"Uh…" was all he managed to say. Zak started to lean in for another kiss but Dib turned his head, so all Zak got was his cheek.

"What's wrong?" asked Zak.

"We can't do this…it's against the code…" said Dib quietly.

"Dib, there is no come, Katie just said that so she didn't hurt you to badly…" said Zak.

"But we just can't…I can't…" said Dib, speaking brokenly, "I just don't know…I can't this right now, please, just give me some time…"

Zak sighed and released Dib's wrists, "Then you'll have it…how much do you think you'll need?"

"I don't know, when I know I guess…" said Dib quietly, almost breathless. Zak backed down and sighed. He scratched the back of his head, which was one action Dib knew rather well, only this time, Zak wasn't smiling or laughing…Usually when Zak did that, he knew he made a mistake. Though, sometimes he would do that in and AP math or science class, then he'd just have a puzzled look over a problem or something like that. But not now, and Dib wished he didn't have that depressed expression written all over his features. It made Dib feel awful…

"Zak, please don't look like that…" said Dib sadly. He didn't want Zak to know how badly he felt for rejecting him…

Zak waved a hand and shook his head, "No, no…don't feel bad, I understand…" Zak then opened the door and walked out.

"Zak…" said Dib softly, but Zak didn't hear, or he didn't fee like turning around. Dib just turned off the light and closed the door and before he knew it, the skool day had ended and he went home.

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Dream was waiting along with the Sergeant in a heavily wooded area, not in disguise, not that anyone could tell it was so dark. All of what could be seen was a silhouette and their glowing eyes. The sergeant paced about and Dream just watched. Form what could be seen, the Sergeant was well built with a rich green color of skin. He was shorter than Dream, but understandably. His ruby eyes scanned the night sky for any sign of the new squad member. His long delicate antenna perked at every sound, but otherwise just hung down with worry or paranoia.

"What's taking so long?" said the Sergeant, stress evident in his voice.

"Sir, she's just a little late, don't get all bloody riled…" said Dream as he lay against a tree.

The Sergeant just grumbled at the comment. Then, something caught his eye, a streak of light that seemed to come towards their little spot. They both backed out of the way of the oncoming ship. It came down at a very fast pace, but when it came to land, it slowed down tremendously, and landed softly on the mostly dead grass. The Sergeant and Dream came close to the Irken ship. The hatch opened and much smoke and steam exited the pain pod when it did.

A small figure, but not short, deathly thin, stepped from the ship with the smoke and mist. When it had all cleared, it reviled a lovely female Irken with amethyst eyes and a very disgruntled look. She stomped over to the Sergeant Major and smacked him upside the face. He staggered back, holding his cheek as Dream got the same treatment.

"Bloody hell woman, what was that for!" said Dream, rubbing his sore cheek.

The Sergeant regained his composure, "I probably deserved that…" he said with a grumble, he then coughed, "Good to have you with us, Tak…"

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(Well, this is it for a while…I must go write more and stuff…Hope you all had fun with this chapter!)


	6. The Unnamed Feeling

The Unnamed Feeling is not belong to me, it belongs to the almighty Metallica! The only reason I'm using this one is because I couldn't find a better one! I'm not making any money with using this song!

I'm back! And with a nice long update! Happy to all of you. Um…Happy New Year? Has it really been that long or is it just me? Neeway, the reason I haven't updated in so long is because I'm trying to revive an old comic I did a while ago…never knew why I stopped, I just did. So, for all of you that care, I'll be posting that on DA AS well as a story version, for those of you who don't like sequential art. So there you go. The meh reviewers! Well, reviewer…FallenAngel331, yes, Tak…yes, all will be explained in due time. Just have a little patients…On with da story!

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Tak just stared angrily at the Sergeant, "Good to have you? GOOD TO HAVE YOU! You're making a mockery of me!"

"I assure you I'm not…" said the Sergeant, "I brought you here for a specific reason you might find enjoyable…"

"Destroy the earth? I think not, I won't have anything to do with this nasty rock!" spat Tak.

"I assume they didn't inform you…great…" sighed the Sergeant, "You're not here to destroy this 'nasty rock' as you call it. Unfortunately for you, it's now protected by the empire itself. No, you'll be doing something much different…"

Tak squinted an eye and cocked an antenna to see if she could better understand what he was saying. It wasn't helping much. 'Have the Tallest gone insane? Why would they _protect _a planet? Its unheard of…' she was so deep in thought she forgot to listen to her mission, "Wait, what?"

"I said we have to keep an eye on Zim because his chemical balancers are beginning to fail…" said the Sergeant unhappily, "I need you two to keep an eye on him and the Dib-human, or it will be our heads, if the Dib were to die…"

"Dib? Why him in particular?" asked Tak.

"Well, for starters, they are mortal enemies…" said the Sergeant, "So Zim would go after Dib first before he goes after anyone else. Second, Dib is part of the band unit, so he must be protected at all costs…"

"I must be missing something…did I miss a memo or something?" asked Tak.

"Yeah, you kinda did…" said Dream, "That's what happens when you're put on janitorial duty…ugck!" coughed Dream as he was punched in the gut. (Tak is very prone to violence…) "Ggk…comment…withdrawn…ugh…" Tak's fist was shaking in rage and her blazing purple eyes were ready to lash out at anyone…But she was quite startled when the Sergeant rested his hand on her fist with just the slightest of pressure. She looked over at him and he shook his head.

"As much as I enjoy Dream getting his ass kicked by a female, now is not the time for this. Save your fight for the actual battle…" Tak lowered her fists and looked back over at Dream, who was acting like he was dieing.

She gave a smirk, "Alright, where do we go from here…"

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Dib idly sat in his chemistry class trying to figure out a way to get out of going to drumline. He sat there, his test done long ago, tapping his paper with the butt of his pencil. The teacher walked by and looked at Dib.

"Having some trouble with a problem, Dib?" she asked.

"Hm? No, I'm done, here…" said Dib, handing her his paper. She graded it quickly and handed it back to him. He had a 100 percent and a little smiley face.

"Another perfect, Mr. Dib," she said cheerfully and walked off. Dib could feel the stares of all the other students in the class, mostly seniors with some juniors. Most were lucky to pull C's in her class, while Dib was getting strait A's.

He was saved a pummeling by the bell, but it also spelled his doom. He got out of there as fast as he could and headed down the band hallway.

He was a little later than normal because he got caught in the B-lunch wave as they came in a swarm of bodies. He entered the band room to find everybody there, except Zak…

'Odd, he's usually here before everybody else…I hope this doesn't have anything to do with me…' he thought as he set his stuff down and got his drum out. He set up right next to Zim, only because Mr. Helm wanted it that way. He couldn't help that, but the only bad thing about being snare this year is that song. The one song he loathed…he hated it with a passion…During this one song, one of the flute payers thought it would be funny to have the snare drums dance in a mock ballet type way. It stuck, and Dib was stuck with it…good thing for him, everybody else hated it to…

"Ey! What took you so long, Zak!" said Tommy as Zak walked in, "Hey, who's that with you?"

"Oh, just a new student, I'm showing her around the skool. She'll also be attending my classes until she has her schedule all figured out…" said Zak.

"Oh, cool! So she'll be in the line for a few days…" said Jeff, "We could always use a few extra players!"

"She's not really into band, but she does have a good ear for music. She might be able to help us out a little," said Zak.

Dib took the time to turn around and look at the new arrival. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Tak?" he said, disillusioned. The girl turned her head to look over at Dib. Yeah, that was definitely her…

"Oh, hey Dib, didn't know you still lived here…" said Tak, smiling a bit. Dib's shock was broken only by Mr. Helm's familiar bellow.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road! 8's, go! Now!" he shouted from his office. Everyone quickly got to their spots and started. When all the warm up's were over and they were about to start on the actual music, Tak piped up.

"Isn't he off?" she asked.

"Is who off?" asked Mr. Helm.

"The snare drummer on Dib's left, he comes in late on the left hand when you were doing the parri parri flam cheezes…"

Mr. Helm just kind of looked at her, "I thought you didn't take band…"

"No, I just don't do much of it anymore, I have more of an interest in my sciences now, but I have done some things in the past…" replied Tak.

"Yes, he was late. Zim, fix it or I'll pull you out of the show and put you back on cymbals…" threatened Mr. Helm.

"Yes, sir…" said Zim, shooting a glare at Tak. 'I'll kill her for sure if she ever comes back here…'

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Dib was walking home and now had more questions than answers. Tak was here, but for what purpose? Was she the other Irken they were calling in? So much information in such a short amount of time…And he still had the whole 'Zak' problem to worry about. It would be a bad idea to get into any relationships now. Zim might go after him to. Dib couldn't have that…there's no was he would let that happen. HE would kill Zim before that happened.

Dib stopped dead in his tracks. Where did that come from? He was never that violent before…why now? Was it because of Zak? That he might have something worth protecting now? Dib wasn't sure…He then remembered something he had heard before. _People will do anything to protect something or someone they care for_…Then, that means…

"I do care…" he said softly.

"Care about what?" Dib nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around to see Zak, "Sorry, did I sneak up on you? Didn't mean to…"

"No, its ok, I was just thinking out loud…" said Dib and he started walking again.

"Thinking about what?" asked Zak, clearly interested in what Dib was so consumed over.

"Stuff…" said Dib, not really wanting to get into anything in public.

"Well, what kind of stuff?" asked Zak, wanting to get at the very bottom of this.

'Why is he being so nosey?' thought Dib. He sighed, "Look, it's not something I want to talk about, ok…" both were very silent for a while, then Zak broke the silence.

"It's about me, isn't it…"

Dib stopped right after Zak asked the question. He looked at the ground and held a death grip on his shoulder backpack. "I told you I don't want to talk about it right now. Now is not the time…" Dib was quite frustrated now, speaking through clenched teeth.

Zak reached out a hand and gently touched Dib's shoulder, in which Dib responded by jerking away.

"Don't touch me…" Dib said curtly. Zak immediately retracted his hand, fearing it might be lost…And it was a good thing that Zak was behind Dib, or else Zak would have seen the pained expression on Dib's face. "Just…just leave me alone…"

"No, not if it's bothering you this much…" said Zak, "It's not really the greatest feeling to see someone you care for look like this…"

"_Fine_, but we discus it in _privacy_…" said Dib coldly. Zak said nothing, he was afraid to, he had never seen Dib this bothered before…

Dib went up the driveway of his house and unlocked the door, Zak following behind. Zak followed Dib upstairs and to Dib's room, Zak being extremely quiet. When Dib got to his room, he opened the door and tossed his bag to the side and crashed on his bed. Zak come in and gently set his book bag by the door, in case things didn't go so well, he could easily leave and be out as quickly as possible. Zak sat in one of the rolly chairs in Dib's bedroom. There was silence while Dib tried to say something, but nothing came to mind. He finally let out a heavy sigh, "Yes, it's about you…" he said finally, making Zak jump at the sudden broken silence.

"It's bad isn't it…" said Zak quietly.

"What? No…fuck no…" said Dib quickly, "I don't hate you or anything…I'm just…afraid…"

"Of me?" asked Zak.

"Of myself…" said Dib, "I…like you, and because of that I'm afraid and confused. It's never bothered me this badly before…" Dib sat up and rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his hands over his face, either hiding it in shame or stress.

Zak got up and walked over to Dib and Sat next to him. He just stat there and watched Dib breathe slowly. "Dib, it's ok if you don't want to get involved or anything…I understand…"

Dib shook his head a little, "No, it's not, that's just it…" he sighed heavily and stood up, walking to the door, closing and locking it. He didn't want anyone to walk in on their little conversation… "I don't want you to be a target…I'm worried for you. If we were to get involved at all, Zim won't only go after me, but he'll go after you to…" Dib looked at Zak with pleading eyes before he sat down on the bed again, "It would be safer if you just stayed away from me…and not just you, everybody…" he breathed in shakily, "There may be sentries all around, but they can't watch everything, everywhere, all the time…." Dib looked blankly at the floor. He hated this, he hated that he had to do this, but it was the only way. He stood to encourage Zak to leave, but as soon as he stood, he was pulled back down and into an embrace. Dib was somewhat surprised, though he knew he shouldn't be by now, "Zak, please…" he whispered.

"Damnit Dib…" murmured Zak, "I ride motorcycles! Dib, there's a greater chance of me getting hit by a car and being killed than by that psychotic alien." He rested his head on Dib's shoulder, "And I don't want you to be paranoid and always look over your shoulder in fear…" 'I don't want you to end up like I did…I don't ever want to see you like that…' he paused before speaking again, "I overheard you talking to one of those monsters one day after rehearsal, right after you were attacked…Dib, I was so fucking scared that you were going to be hurt…I was so afraid that I couldn't even move…But then another one came and scared the first off…And I heard him…it? Say something about being another coming and become one more of three? Or something like that. What was that all about? Are you one of those things?" asked Zak.

Dib pulled away and looked at him in confusion. Then smirked and shook his head, "No, I'm native born human…And well, it's kind of hard to explain. To my knowledge, they're just here to get rid of Zim or…deactivate him I think they said. But whatever it is, I believe they mean the band people no harm, apparently, we're protected under a new law or commandment or whatever…" he could feel Zak's blank stare, "Look, I'm not sure of all the details myself…"

"And you believe them…" asked Zak.

"What else can I do? Do I trust them fully? Hell no, but until they screw up, I'll just be on my toes…" said Dib.

Zak nodded and looked at his feet. He had underestimated Dib's intelligence and trustworthiness, he felt like a total ass…He then felt a soft warmth on his shoulder and looked at Dib. Dib was looking at him with a worried look. Zak smiled a little, "I'm fine, really…"

Dib nodded and started to take his hand back, but it was caught and his whole body was jerked forward. Zak had done it again, he had pulled Dib into a kiss, but he didn't restrain him this time. Dib had all the chance in the world to pull away or say stop, and he didn't. Dib couldn't take it anymore, he gave into himself and to Zak. And, he was really glad that the blinds were pulled and the door was locked. X3

Zak kissed Dib deeply, sliding his hands up the back of Dib's shirt. Dib gasped a little bit at the coldness of Zak's hands, but it quickly passed. And, in turn, Dib let his hands wander up the back of Zak's shirt, feeling that Zak's back was just as cold as his hands. Zak let out a soft moan at the new warmth of Dib's hands on his cool skin.

Then Dib sort of rolled/lay onto his back and Zak followed, ending up on top of him. It was quite nice for both boys, such a wonderful little make-out session with all the sighing, gasping and groaning, complete with all that lovely touching. However, Zak had wanted to go farther, but Dib, being the shy and self-conscious one he is, wouldn't let him… (Such a party pooper he is…)

Zak left in good spirits and Dib was left in good spirits.

'Maybe this won't be so bad after all…' thought Dib as he lay contented on his bed, 'well, as long as no one knows about it anyway…' Dib sighed and he rolled onto his side, falling asleep in no time at all.

But unknown to him, someone was watching, not to mention _documenting_ it.

'This is not good, I'll have to notify the Sergeant a.s.a.p.'

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"And you're sure about this?" asked the Sergeant to a green-eyed female Irken on the monitor.

"Yes, Sergeant, the Tallest will want an update soon, within a day or so," she replied.

"Ay, I'll do that, thank you," said the Sergeant. She saluted and signed off.

"Sergeant!" shouted Dream, "Sergeant! I think we have a really big problem!"

The Sergeant spun around, eyes slightly panicked, "What is it! What happened! Is Zim on the move?" he asked as Dream ran up to him.

"No, it's he Dib!" he coughed, trying to catch his breath.

The Sergeants eyes widened in horror, "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"I…I don't know, but you're not gonna like it…" he panted and handed the Sergeant a disk. The Sergeant snatched it out of his hand and punched it into the computer. Then he watched, and as it progressed, the Sergeant became more and more disgusted, "How long ago did you film this?" he hissed though clenched teeth.

Dream was taken aback by the malice in the Sergeant's tone, "Eh…not long…possibly and hour and a half?" he was silent as the Sergeant's antenna seemed to droop somewhat, "Uhm…Sergeant?"

"What…" he snapped.

"Uh, never mind, I'm gonna go check on…em, the stuff at…place…" Dream then proceeded to slink off.

The Sergeant could hear a dark chuckle. "What do you find so comical, Tak…" he growled.

She chuckled a little more before falling from the ceiling and landing behind the Sergeant, "Hehe, just you, _Sergeant_…" she put a sickeningly sweet emphasis on the word. She could just barely make out a 'go away' from the Sergeant. She smiled coldly, "Pretty sad, even for you…"

"Shut _up_, Tak…Go away and leave me alone…" hissed the Sergeant.

"No, I don't think I will," she said sweetly, she knew she was pushing her luck, but she had to know, "You're as low as they get, Sergeant, to be in love with a wretched stink-beast like that."

"I said shut UP!" shouted the Sergeant as he whirled around and grabbed Tak by the throat, lifting her up off the ground, "Unless you want to discuss the matter further, you are dismissed…" Tak, in her utter surprise, didn't even see the pure look or murder in the Sergeant's ruby red eyes. She hurriedly shook her head and the Sergeant dropped her unceremoniously. She clutched at her neck, choking and coughing. She looked back up at the Sergeant, her antenna flat against her head in submission. This was the first time in her whole like that she was actually frightened…

"Get out of my sight…" hissed the Sergeant, a low, throaty growl showing though. Tak, now definitely scared for her life, got the hell out of there.

The Sergeant shook his head and turned back to the screen. He stopped the footage and leaned against the computer panel, his head sunk down and his antenna fell lifelessly against the back of his head. He let out a soft, depressed sigh. 'This wasn't supposed to happen….' Then a smile crept across his seemingly depressed face.

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Um…yeah, I don't have much to say except that I hope you liked this chapter only because I probably won't update for a long, long time…so I'm very sorry, but if I do, then it will be a miracle…Love to all who read this story.


	7. Urbanscape

DISCLAIMER! Urbanscape is not belong to me! It belongs to the Almighty Mr. Helm and I am not making any money off of the title!

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Well, to move things right along, the marching band won all but one of their competitions. Dib and Zak's romance was kept under wraps, though they seemed to see each other all the time. Also, to shuffle things along, Indoor drumline started up once again. To everyone's surprise, the _loved_ the idea for this year.

The show was called Urbanscape (© to Mr. Helm…seriously) and was based on, well, duh, the city life and whatnot. Everyone had the music down and they quite enjoyed the show. Mr. Helm had even worked the metal trash cans into the show. Everyone had an assigned role to play as well, someone you would find in a big city. There was a Goth, a cop, a detective, a vet, a disgruntled worker, a beatnik, a construction worker, a butcher, a military person, a business man, a grocer, a doctor, a painter, a hobo (X3), and a gansta…with Zim being the military person, Dib being the vet, and Zak being the business man.

Also, everything got switched around. Dib ended up in the pit, Zak on the biggest bass drum, and Zim on snare. All who, surprisingly, loved their new views of the line. Ok, so Zak and Dib couldn't make goo-goo eyes at each other when no one was looking anymore, but at least Zak got to see Dib's ass ALL THE TIME. So, there was one good thing…

Well, they all arrived at skool on Saturday for their first competition of the year. They made quick work of tearing everything down and putting it in all the cars that could carry the equipment. (See, at this point in time, they were too poor to afford an equipment truck…) Then they headed out to the hi skool they were to perform at. This time, it was T.J. skool of Science! and Technology. They unloaded everything and put it back together and were ushered into a practice room. Mr. Helm yelled, screamed, and jumped up and down, throwing his sticks like always. (He gets kinda edgy before every competition…) But, then a runner came into the practice room.

"H.F. Drumline?" she asked.

"Yes?" said Mr. Helm, calming almost instantly.

"It's time, another line is on their way to warm up…" she replied. Mr. Helm nodded and the line gathered up everything. They went to the back of the gym where the drumline before them was already playing…and they sounded really good…

Mr. Helm could tell the worried faces on the line members, "Look, just go out there and do your best. You'll be fine, I'm sure everyone in the stands will like your show, even if the judges don't…" Everyone seemed to relax a little bit, but soon became antsy…

Then, everything was silent. The drummers knew exactly what to do now, so they made a break for it, heading into the gym. They set up as much as they could at half court, then as soon as the timing judge said to go for it, got for it they did. They set up the pit, drums and scenery in under a minuet. Then the Almighty Voice came over the loud speaker!

"Is your drumline ready?" she asked. Tommy (Marimba), who was the construction worker, pulled out a tape measure, nodded his head and put it back on his belt. "H.F. Drumline, you may now take the floor in competition.)

And so they started. Everything went smoothly, until the middle. Everyone broke and the pit headed to the 'Expresso' bar for a coffee. The Goth and the detective got into a fight…the Asian grocer passed out and the doctor tried to bring him around. First, the doctor slapped him a few times, then lifted him up off the ground and dropped him…He was finally able to bring him around with a 'Pile Driver' (sp? Is that even the correct move? Oo;) to the stomach…The hobo was trying to make some money by playing the 'ghetto' quads that were make out of coffee cans. The military person stopped him and made him watch.

Then came the trash can section. The battery got trash cans and the pit got plastic buckets to beat on. The pit did some weird type jungle dance wile they played before the final beat was struck and the slow section faded into the finale.

Boom! They finally hit the very last note and they were done, they made haste and got out of there. The crowd was going crazy! They were so loud that the announcer couldn't even be heard when she came over again to announce once again that that was H.F Drumline reigning from Alexandria VA. And every drummer had a stupid grin on their face. They headed for the back of the building and started to tear everything down once again so it could be packed up.

Mr. Helm had to smile, "Did you notice that T.J. _and _T.E. were standing and cheering for you?" he asked the drummers. This just made everyone ecstatic. They returned to the gym and watched the other groups in their division play, but as they did, they were becoming more depressed…they seemed so much better…

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Overall, it wasn't so bad. T.E. got first, T.J. got second and H.F. got third, not bad for the first competition. Not to mention there were 15 _other_ bands there.

So they went to Chili's® to celebrate. It was nice, but they had a long way to go if they were ever going to win first, and they would get it, hopefully…

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Well, now you all know I'm NOT dead, just laying low for a while. School work and such. There will be another chapter soon after this one, but after that, who knows…I'll let you know when I find out. Also, I've been working on another story that is of my own creation and will most likely be posted on my devart account. Just for the record.


	8. Bodies

DISCLAIMER! Bodies is not belong to me! It belong to the Almighty Drowning Pool I am not making any money off the title…

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_Let the bodies hit the floor …  
Let the bodies hit the floor …  
Let the bodies hit the floor …  
Let the bodies hit the...  
Floor!_

_Beaten, why for…  
Can't take much more … _

Here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go now

_One! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Two! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Three! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Four! Nothing wrong with me…_

_One! Something's got to give…_

_Two! Something's got to give…_

_Three! Something's got to give…_

_Four! Something's got to give…_

_Now!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Push me again…  
This is the end…_

_Here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go now_

_One! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Two! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Three! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Four! Nothing wrong with me…_

_One! Something's got to give…_

_Two! Something's got to give…_

_Three! Something's got to give…_

_Four! Something's got to give…_

_Now!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Skin to skin, blood and bone…  
You're all by yourself, but you're not alone…  
You wanted in and now you're here…  
Driven by hate, consumed by fear…_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_One! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Two! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Three! Nothing wrong with me…_

_Four! Nothing wrong with me…_

_One! Something's got to give…_

_Two! Something's got to give…_

_Three! Something's got to give…_

_Four! Something's got to give…_

_Now!_

_Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!_

_Go!_

_Now!_

_Go!_

_Now!_

_Go!_

_Now!_

_Go!_

_Now!_

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Well, another uneventful week ended and Dib walked home alone since Gaz had to stay after and make up a test. Dib had many things on his mind mainly because it was another competition week. He didn't even notice that three jocks that were following him.

"Hey! Get 'em!" shouted the bigger of the three.

"Shit…" growled Dib as the two jocks were on him in an instant, grabbing his arms painfully. He looked up at the leader, "What the hell do you want, meat head?"

The leader punched Dib squarely in the face, "I'm make a punchin' bag out of yoo…" He punched Dib a few more times, "teach yoo not to be a fag…" Punch.

"And how the hell did you come to that conclusion, fucker…" said Dib as he spat blood and spit into his assailant's face.

"'Cause yer skinny and you're a Goth…" said the jock wiping the excrement from his face, "I'll make you pay for that!" The jock punched Dib a few more times in the stomach.

"Hey, your epidermis is showing…" coughed Dib.

"Where?" said the jock, looking at his fly, realizing it was closed proceeded to inflict bodily punishment until someone called his attention away.

"Stop it…" Zak was walking towards them.

"Hey look! It's another one!" said the leader, "It's a nerd! We'll chase him down when this one dies…" the jock smirked and punched Dib a few more times, who was starting to look half dead anyway…

Dib coughed up blood and was having trouble breathing. He heard voices, but couldn't distinguish any of them. The only reason he was still standing was because he was being held up by the two jocks, otherwise, he would have plummeted like a stone.

"I said, cut it out…" said Zak in a deadly calm. He continued walked toward the leader, who was just laughing at him.

"Hey look, the big, bad geek is gonna beat me up!" he laughed stupidly as did his followers.

Zak just dropped his backpack to the side as he continued to advance on the leader. All they did was laugh at him.

Then, Zak was right in front of the leader. He started to laugh along with the jocks right before he punched the leader in the neck and dropped him. Boom! Knocked out cold!

"I'm NOT a nerd, you stupid fuck…" said Zak coolly. Zak's arm was still in the position from when he punched the leader. All he had to do was look over at the other two and they turned tail, taking their fallen leader with them. Zak caught Dib as he dropped, and laid him onto the grass. He looked worriedly at Dib, 'Those morons did a number on him…' he thought.

Dib's face was swollen, bruised and bloodied. His shirt was covered in blood and after further examination, his chest and belly were also covered with dark purple and red bruises, no doubt from being punched far too hard and too long…Then, something caught Zak's eye, and it scared him to hell and back…Dib's chest wasn't rising…

"No, no, no…" Zak murmured as he placed his ear next to Dib's mouth. He wasn't breathing, but his heart was still beating, however faint it was.

"Shit!" gulped Zak, whipping out his phone and dialing 911. A lady picked up on the other line.

"What is your emergency?"

"My friend has been beat up really bad, he isn't breathing but his hearts still beating!" said Zak hurriedly.

"What is your location?" asked the woman calmly.

"Uh..." Zak looked around, "On Telegraph right after H.F. road." He said quickly.

"Old Telegraph or New?" replied the lady.

"New, please hurry!" said Zak, panic starting to take a hold of him.

"It's ok, someone will be there shortly. Just calm down, it will be alright." She said softly and reassuringly.

Zak put his other ear to Dib's chest and listened. Dib's heart was slowing down, he was dieing…

"His heart's starting to stop!" Zak chocked into the phone.

"The emergency team will be there in about 30 seconds. Please remain calm." She said from the other line. Zak could hear the sirens, and the ambulance came around the corner.

"They're here…" he said and he cut off the call, sticking the phone back into his pocket. The rescuers went strait to Dib and checked his vitals. They weren't good…The team immediately put a tube down Dib's throat and into his lungs, manually feeding air into the starved organs. All Zak could do was watch and hope for the best.

Then, the rescuers strapped Dib onto a gurney and started putting him into the ambulance. Zak had gathered up his backpack and Dib's and was standing off to the side so he wouldn't get in the way.

"You coming kid?" asked one of the emergency team members in a gruff voice. Zak nodded and climbed into the back with Dib, listening to emergency equipment beep and buzz. He couldn't help but feel that this was his fault for some reason…

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I forgot to mention that there was a major edit at the end of chapter 6, so if you could all kindly go back and view the very last sentence or two. This is all I have for now, so until I write up more, this is all you get. Love to all my readers.


	9. Now is Forever

Now is forever is not belong to me! It belong to the almighty Eiffel 65. I am not making any money off of using the title, I think it's a cool song…

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I'd like to thank all my devoted readers and those who have followed this story from the beginning. And thank you to all my reviewers, it is fully appreciated. This is the last chapter for this story. Not the series, but this particular story. I regret to inform you all that I won't be writing for quite a while, I have currently lost the urge to. If you wish for updates and things like that, you can find me at deviant art. My screen name is Ryu-Forte and I am packing up and staying there. I'd also like to apologize for the very, very, very delayed posting of this. This is for you, thank you again.

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_we should think about,  
what we got right now,  
cause the good things are made up of time.  
smile to your problems,  
leave the past behind.  
never forget this.  
find the truth in your soul,  
keeping you alive.  
going on from minute to minute.  
don't shade the future,  
with all that's behind.  
live for today. _

the past is all that's gone,  
the future is yet to come.  
this moment is all our own.  
we should live this way,  
just building up our day,  
now is forever.  
the past is all that's gone,  
the future is yet to come.  
this moment is all our own.  
we should live this way,  
just building up our day,  
now is forever.

don't shade your future,  
with what you don't have.  
keep your mind on that's here today.  
now is forever,  
build the future now.  
keep this in mind.  
though you will take your time,  
to get what you need,  
but you'll do it step after step.  
yet to come is all that's gone,  
learn to live this moment.  
live for today.

the past is all that's gone,  
the future is yet to come.  
this moment is all our own.  
we should live this way,  
just building up our day,  
now is forever.  
the past is all that's gone,  
the future is yet to come.  
this moment is all our own.  
we should live this way,  
just building up our day,  
now is forever.

the past is all that's gone,  
the future is yet to come.  
this moment is all our own.  
we should live this way,  
just building up our day,  
now and forever.

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Zak sat next to the hospital bed and gazed worriedly at Dib. He paid no attention to the beeps and clicks of the machinery that Dib was hooked up to. The doctors said he was pretty bad oo0f with the internal hemorrhaging and his lungs had been filled with blood for an extended period of time. The doctors also said it might be weeks before Dib was back on his feet again. If anything, Zak should be in the hospital because of his dangerous lifestyle. If Dib died, he wouldn't know what to do with himself…

"Dib, I don't know if you can hear me or not…and I almost hope that you don't. I am not who you think I am…you know more about me than you realize…one day…" Zak sighed heavily, "One day, I'll tell you everything…Some day…" he lightly kissed Dib's forehead and walked out of the hospital room.

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"I want you to bring him here…" said the Sergeant, "We have the technology to get him on his feet by tomorrow."

"But this isn't Zim related!" protested Tak, "It has nothing to do with him!"

"True, but he is injured, and we have to get him on his feet ASAP, otherwise, he'll be out for weeks." said the Sergeant.

Tak cautiously approached with another view, "What if he takes advantage of our technology? He could use it against us."

The Sergeant considered this then shook his head, "I doubt that he'd do that. I'm sure he knows that if he was to take advantage of our being here and our technology, the treaty would be broken and this planet would then just be another mark on the giant 'to invade' list." He smiled cruelly, "I doubt he would be that stupid." He looked at Tak, who didn't argue with that reasoning.

"Shall I get him, then?" asked Dream, "That way both of you would still be here to protect the base and monitor Zim."

"Sounds like a plan," said the Sergeant, "Go and get a holograph chip from the computer in the war room and infiltrate the human medical building. Do NOT harm any of the humans, just retrieve the Dib human and come back. No detours, do you understand?"

"Sir!" Saluted Dream and he went off to complete his mission.

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Dib opened his eyes, he was groggy and his whole body felt like it was hit by an 18 wheeler. 'Am I still alive?' he thought. Well, that was a stupid question, he had to be if he hurt this much…He noticed the tubes running into his arms and the mask on his face first. He could hear the soft beeps and clicks of the machinery as it worked to keep him alive. 'Damn, must have gotten more beat up than I thought…'

He could hear voices outside of the room, but they were muffled to the point that they were unrecognizable. He tried to turn his head to hear better, but it racked him with so much pain he decided against it. Maybe the doctors will give him some heavy duty drugs so he won't feel the paint…mm, fun drugs that make you out if it…

A doctor walked into the room and looked Dib over, "What kind of bloody mess have you gotten yourself into?" Why did that voice sound so familiar? "Alright laddy, can lets try to get you sitting up…We need to get you into this wheel chair to transfer you to another hospital. That's right…" The doctor gently helped Dib sit up and swing his legs over the edge of the bed, then into the wheelchair.

When they were out the room and the doctor had pushed Dib along the hallway, Dib decided to open his mouth, "Now what…" his voice was horse and came out as barely a whisper.

"Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" He finally let his guard down as they entered the elevator and spoke in his oh-so British way.

Dib had to smile at this, "So are you taking me to your base so I can get better faster?"

"You'll see," said Dream as they exited the elevator. He wheeled Dib out of the lobby and out to the car waiting for them outside. They got into the disguised ship and left.

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The ride to the base seemed like ages for Dib. What could the Sergeant person be planning now? What was going to happen to him? Dream didn't seem to mind the silence, but it was killing Dib.

They arrived at a fairly normal looking house, save for the pink flamingos all over the fallen tree in the front yard.

"Why are there…"

"To piss the homeowners association off…" sad Dream before Dib could finish his sentence, "We're here." He helped Dib out of the ship and into another wheelchair. Dream walked Dib up the driveway and to the front door, pressing a button where the doorbell should have been. A small scanner popped out and scanned Dream's hand. It turned green and the ground below the, dropped down like an elevator and closed over their heads.

The platform took them deep into the base, past many levels, more then Dib had ever been to in Zim's base. As far as Dib could tell, this base was far larger than Zim's base. Soon, the platform slowed and came to a stop. The doors opened to a rather large room with medical tables, tanks and large, egg-shaped, pod looking things that were very tall…

Dib couldn't help be gape at the sight. But he quickly realized what he was doing and stopped. It was just so much to take in and such a vast space.

"Alright, laddy, this is what you're going to do: First, you'll bathe in the solution in that tank over there, then you'll go into a state of stasis in the 'chamber' over there. That's when all your wounds and stuff will heal." The 'chamber' as Dream had called it was a pod…One particular pod, in fact. It was slightly shorter and a slight hew off of all the other pink/purple pods.

"Why that one?" asked Dib.

"That's the one we modified to support and mend the human body," said Dream, "Otherwise, you'd die instantly…" that wasn't something Dib wanted to hear… "Alright, into the solution with you…"

Dream helped Dib up and out of the wheelchair. Dib leaned up against the side of the tank for support. Dream helped Dib undress: boots, socks, shirt, pants. Dream stopped before the boxers because he could feel Dib tense up.

"You don't feel comfortable, do you?" asked Dream honestly.

"No…" was all Dib said.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," said Dream and he walked off, soon returning with a fluffy pink towel. "You can change behind that panel over there." He said, pointing to a large black screen type thing.

Dib hobbled over to the little screen and wrapped the fluffy pink towel around him, only after he had taken his boxers off. Then he hobbled back over to Dream.

"Alright, into the solution with you…we need you to be good as new by tomorrow so you can go compete." said Dream, lifting Dib into the warm, thick, blue solution. "Wash in that thoroughly, how well you wash determines your pod time."

Dib washed as best he could and when he was finished, Dream helped him out and over to the pod. Dream allowed Dib to put his boxers back on before entering the pod.

"Ok, listen to me, don't stop breathing, ok? And don't panic, please…" said Dream earnestly.

Dib thought that was a rather odd thing to say, before the pod door closed and locked. The pod immediately started to fill up with a blue-purple solution, much like what he just bathed in, but it was less dense and mostly see through. Dib looked out at Dream wide eyed. Dream pressed a button for the pod speaker.

"Trust me, you'll be fine. Just do what I said."

That sure as hell didn't reassure Dib. The liquid soon rose over his head and he held his breath…too bad he had to breathe. He exhaled and inhaled the solution. It didn't even seem like a liquid, it was like breathing air. But by doing so, he soon felt tired as the solution released the anesthesia and he was asleep in minuets.

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Dream kept careful tabs on the machinery. Soon, the Sergeant paid a visit.

"How is he?"

"He seems to be responding very well, he'll definitely be better by tomorrow, most likely tonight." replied Dream.

"And you?" asked the Sergeant.

"Me, sir?" repeated Dream.

"Yes, you. How are you feeling? Ok, I hope? And thinking. Thinking well, I would hope…" said the Sergeant, beginning to circle Dream.

"Sir, I'm not sure I understand you…"

"No…unclean thoughts, yes? That would be a very unhappy thing if you were…" as this point, Dream clued in and became very nervous.

"Sir I don't understand…"

"I know damn right you do!" shouted the Sergeant, slamming Dream into the wall, "I know everything about your record! Written or not! I know everything! What you did while you were teaching at the academy! Or worse, what you let go on!" the Sergeant released Dream and Dream slumped to the floor in fear. "I can have you executed for what you did, no, I should do it myself…" he glared angrily at Dream.

"IF you so much as look at ANY human the wrong way, your death will be my greatest accomplishment." He stormed out of the room, leaving Dream shaken up and fearful.

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When Dib opened his eyes, he saw two Irkens arguing in front of him. One was Dream and the other he had never seen before. The tall one with the crimson red eyes was definitely the dominant of the two, by how Dream seemed to cower in front of him. Then the tall red eyed one stormed out of the room and Dib fell back into sleep, to forget what he saw.

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Zim was tinkering with another soon-to-be failed experimental doom machine. Out of all the drummers, Zim was the only one who didn't go and visit Dib in the hospital. Big surprise.

"Soon, very soon the treaty will be broken and the armada will be free to destroy this shit-ball of a planet…Then I'll be hailed as the greatest of them all! Gir!"

"Yes my master!" saluted the robot.

"I want you to relay a message to the other soldiers stationed here. Tell them that they will break the treaty and force all-out war on the humans…"

"Yes, sir!" and he was odd, only to get side tracked by the Crazy Taco…

'Soon, very soon, I will rule the world with a leather-gloved fist…' and he began to cackle. And cackle he did until he just didn't care anymore…

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That night Dib was released and allowed to return home. But, Dib decided to take a detour to a friend's house for a while. He walked to the house and rang the door bell. A woman answered the door.

"Hello, may I help you?" she asked kindly.

"Yes, is Zak in?" asked Dib.

"Yes, let me go get him for you…" she walked off and Zak walked to the door. As soon as he realized who it was he was on top of Dib, hugging him tightly.

"You're not dead! I was so worried about you! Are you sure you're ok? What are you doing out of the hospital? What happened to all the cuts and scratches?" He was amazed and looked at Dib as if he had just risen from the dead.

"I'm fine. The Irkens that are stationed here took care of my wounds. I'm much better now, you don't have to worry." said Dib as he pulled Zak into another hug.

"But…." Zak started to say, but was pulled into another hug and decided not to worry about it. He pulled away and led Dib to his room but the hand and locked the door. The spent the night in each other's company. Coughmakingoutcough.

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Next day at the competition Dib showed up ready to go. Everyone was amazed that he looked perfectly new, not a scratch on him. And they stole the competition. They stole the one after that to, and after that. The only one they didn't steal was WGI, but hey, they weren't expecting much out of that one anyway. They got 2nd to last…Well, can't win them all can ya. Way out of their league. Pretty soon, it was getting to that time of the year again: the end of the year. Everyone said their goodbye's and went off on their own for the summer. The only two that really saw much of each other was Zak and Dib, for obvious reasons. Course, they would never tell anyone. So ends another year at H.F. Secondary.


End file.
